Ray,
this is one of the best ways to discover how best to help these students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Ask them what type of support they have had in the past that was helpful to them.
Richard,
this is an excellent point & helps demonstrate that all of us learn in a variety of ways. We must meet the students where they are.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
For one thing, everyone learns differently and at varing speeds, regardless of their abilities. establishing a methodology for success is a powerful responsibility for any teacher and should be embrassed as a challenge instead of a burden. It is surprising how many individuals have various learning disabilities and I hope there are more improvements in effective tooling for teachers to utilize in creating successful students.
The school has limited support for instructors/students. From time to time bring in a professional group that can help instructors on methods that will identify and help overcome the disability to propel the student to their zenith.
Julia,
this is a great strategy & also shows the student that you care about them & are willing to help them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I can meet with the student privately and ask them what would help them, what has worked in the past. I can give them an outline of the lecture and also provide tutoring and test taking strategies.
claire,
yes & then checking in with experts in the field will have greatly.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The Internet is a great source of information. All you need to do is google it. Here is a link to a downloadable guide for teachers.
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/docs/learning_disabilities_guide.pdf
LaShonda,
these are all great methods to utilize in helping students in our classes who do have various disablities.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Use resources and research the learning disability. Find in-service training that provide learning disability training. Also speak with the student to find out what comfortable previous support they may have experienced.
I think the best way is to talk with that specific student and see what he/she need to succeed in the class. You can see what has been done in the past to help that student and apply as much of it to your class.
Kimberly,
thank you for the reminder that while we can learn many techniques, each student is an individual & we must meet them where they are & help them to our best ability.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
One of the best way to learn is to put forth the effort to research the different types of learning disabilities and look into what works best for the students. The important thing to remember is each student is an individual and as such what works for one may not always work for another. It is important to research a specific learning disability a student may have and work with the student to find what will help them best. One of the best teachers an instructor can have for a learning disability is the student themselves. As the module shared with us we can ask them what has worked in the past and build off that so we are not starting from scratch.
By asking the student(s) to relate the type of support systems used in previous classroom settings and how successful they were for the individual student. After receiving this information, applying it to your instruction to the entire class.
What we do first, is when a student brings to our attention that he or she has a learning disability, we have them fill out an ADA form, together with their doctor, to determine the accomodations that she or he needs. Within reason, we then implement these accomodations for the student, and ensure that we meet with the student frequently to ensure that the accomodations are working, etc.
Brittany,
yes, if a student identifies themselves as having a learning disability, the best first question to ask is what has worked well for them in the past.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Brittany,
yes, if a student identifies themselves as having a learning disability, the best first question to ask is what has worked well for them in the past.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I think a big part of helping them is reminding the student that they are capable of completing the task at hand. They are in the class because inclusion is important to them and they do not want to be treated differently. In my experience it helps to find a student that excels in the course to mentor the student, with additional study sessions, because students connect on a different level.
Learning about their IEP and what test anxiety may accompany that will allow the instructor to accommodate the student without hindering them. They still need to be able to meet the course requirements, but that does not mean it all has to be done the same way.
I am a fairly new instructor and found this course to be very helpful. By taking courses such as this one and reading and getting more education ourselves, we can find different ways to help students with learning disabilities. I would definitely use lots of visuals along with applying the information promptly after showing a demonstration.
